Anime Overview: Cardfight!! Vanguard G: Stride Gate-hen

 

Synoposis

Third season of Cardfight!! Vanguard G series.

Weekly Book Reads (Apr 25)

 Weekly Book Reads

Weekly Book Reads is a weekly Monday Meme that is hosted by Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews:

Post the books read last week and books you plan on finishing this week.

Read Last Week:

1.  Alone in the Dark (Part 2) - Karen Rose

Weekly Book Reading:

1.  Treasure at Lure Lake - Shari Schwarz
2.  Murder on the Hour - Elizabeth J. Duncan
3.  He's My Only Vampire Vol. 6 - Aya Shouoto
4.  Taboo Tattoo - Shinjiro

Bunny Express Saturday 2016 (Apr 23)

Bunny Express Saturday is hosted every Saturday at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews.

I received these in the mail this week.

For Review:

Teen-aged Internet bully Ivy Lake fell off a cliff and few people cared except her mentally-challenged eighteen-year-old step-brother, Tommy. He loved her in spite of her cruelty. He's distraught and doesn't understand why his blended family is falling apart. After a year, the police still have no answers: Ivy could have jumped, could have been pushed, or it could have been an accident. With too many suspects and not enough evidence, the investigation has grown cold.

Tommy thinks that if someone can figure out what happened to his step-sister, everything will go back to normal, so he writes to investigative reporter Maxine Revere. This isn’t the type of case Max normally takes on, but the heartbreak and simple honesty in Tommy's letter pulls her in. She travels to Corte Madera, California, with her assistant David Kane and is at first pleased that the police are cooperative. But the more Max learns about Tommy and his dysfunctional family, the more she thinks she’s taken on an impossible task: this may be the one case she can’t solve.

If Ivy was murdered, it was exceptionally well-planned and that kind of killer could be hiding in plain sight planning the next act of violence. Max believes the truth is always better than lies, that the truth is the only thing that matters to gain justice for victims and their families. But for the first time, she wonders if this time, the truth will kill.


Poisonous is the latest in the electrifying Max Revere series from New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan.

The Smallest Mistake

Three went in; one came out. For five years, no trace has been found of two high-school friends who went hiking in the woods near Nashville. The third teen, Amber Ryder, was discovered at the bottom of a ravine with a broken arm, head trauma -- and zero memory of the horror that put her there.

Will Put You

What started as a cold case has become a fresh hell for forensic technician Georgia Morgan. Another woman's body is found in the woods, and it leads to the missing teens' remains. But while Georgia works with Amber to try and reawaken her memories, her gut tells her the worst is yet to come.

At A Killer's Mercy

Homicide Detective Jake Bishop can't be sure whether Amber is an expert manipulator or the killer's next target. Either way, he's determined to protect Georgia. Because the deeper she digs into the past, the deadlier the secrets that emerge, and a nightmare years in the making is about to come to a bloody, terrifying end.

Paula Paul's For Dead Men Only Blog Tour with a Spotlight and Guest Post

I am so excited to have Paula Paul here at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight.

Thanks Paula and Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for allowing me to join your For Dead Men Only Blog Tour!

Please take it away, Paula!

Dr. Gladstone Does Her Duty

I am Dr. Alexandra Gladstone, the protagonist in the cozy mystery series called, appropriately enough, Dr. Alexandra Gladstone Mysteries. Paula Paul is the author of that series, and she asked me to write a short essay for her. She says she doesn’t have time to write it herself because she is busy trying to work out the plot for another adventure for me and Nancy, my maid-of- all-work.

I agreed to do this for her since, so far at least, she has succeeded in keeping me alive through all those situations she’s gotten me into. However, I suspect the real reason she wanted me to write it for her is because she’s a bit shy. I think she’s afraid that composing an essay about writing the series will force her to talk about herself somewhat, and she’s reluctant to do that. I can understand that since I am a rather reticent myself. However, since she is my creator, I am compelled to do as she says. Up to a point at least. I must confess that there have been times when I have forced Paula to write things my way when she had plans for the story to go another direction. Without fail, she has confessed that she is glad I insisted because it invariable makes the story better.

Sometimes I have to visit her in her dreams in order to make her understand certain matters. For example, I did not like that gown she dressed me in for the first adventure in the series, which she called Symptoms of Death. I was at a dinner party given by the Fifth Earl of Dunsford at Montmarsh, his country estate that happens to be just outside the village of Newton-Upon-Sea where I live and have my medical practice. She dressed me in rose-colored silk. Of course I love silk gowns, but I could scarcely afford it. I had to explain that to Paula in the dream. I am a medical doctor in a small village. The rose silk cost me almost two months income, and Nancy had to take time away from helping me in my practice to stitch the dress by hand. The style was wrong as well. Low enough in the front to show décolletage! What was she thinking? That style was decades out of style. Not that I am so terrible conscious of style, but I do have my principles. Décolletage indeed!

At first, her description of the village was disconcerting to me. She kept changing the distance between certain sites, not to mention their locations. I become positively dizzy trying to find my way around until I instructed her in yet another dream to draw a map of the town. I am loathe to say that Paula is a terrible artist, and the map was almost incomprehensible at first, but we both came to comprehend it eventually.

After several books, we have come to understand each other much better, and I believe we could become rather good friends if circumstances allowed us to cross centuries and meet as equals. As I have already mentioned, we are both somewhat introverted and shy, but we both also have voracious intellectual appetites and love learning new things. For example, we both had a great deal to learn about anthrax poisoning in the book Half a Mind to Murder. I only regret that my own education came at the expense of the lives of some of the villagers. There is certainly more that we each have had to learn, but I won’t go into it here. Paula instructed me that I am not to give away everything because she wants you to read the books. Certainly I do as well. I have a much fuller life when it is shared with readers, rather than with Paula alone who spends far too much of her time in front of that device she calls a computer to be truly sociable. She really needs to get out more.

For Dead Men Only: An Alexandra Gladstone Mystery
2nd in Series
Historical Cozy Mystery
Random House LLC
Alibi (April 12, 2016)
E-Book ASIN: B01208WOJ4





Synopsis

The Temple of the Ninth Daughter sits on a hill at the edge of Newton - upon-Sea, an aura of mystery lingering over its tall, gray silhouette. Villagers whisper about the treasure housed inside, protected by local Freemasons who are bound by clandestine oaths.

Dr. Alexandra Gladstone has no time for such nonsense. Between the patients in her surgery and the rounds she makes with her faithful dog, Zack, her days are busy enough. But Alexandra has no logical explanation when the Freemasons start dying, one by one, with no sign of foul play other than smears of blood on their Masonic aprons. And what to make of reports that a Knight Templar rides through the village before each passing?

After the constable disappears in the midst of the crisis, Alexandra reaches out to her dashing, diligent friend, Nicholas Forsythe, Lord Dunsford, for assistance. Is someone after the treasure, or might a more sinister game be afoot? In order to solve this puzzle, Alexandra must somehow catch a killer who shows no remorse — and leaves no witnesses.

Praise for Paula Paul’s Alexandra Gladstone mysteries

“I love the way real personalities from the past keep popping up to intermingle with Paul’s fictional characters.” — Lois Duncan, award-winning and bestselling author of Killing Mr. Griffin and I Know What You Did Last Summer

“A lively mixture of ruling-class murder, Victorian morals, and love.” — Bestselling author Tony Hillerman

“I would recommend this to fans of the Maisie Dobbs series. There’s a strong female character in a historical setting. She’s determined, logical, intelligent and faces an unusual situation.” — The Reader’s Hollow

About The Author

Award-winning novelist Paula Paul was born on her grandparents’ cotton farm near Shallowater, Texas, and graduated from a country high school near Maple, Texas. She earned a BA in journalism and has worked as a reporter for newspapers in both Texas and New Mexico. She’s been the recipient of state and national awards for her work as a journalist as well as a novelist. Her previous novels featuring Dr. Alexandra Gladstone, including Symptoms of Death, have appeared on bookstore and online bestseller lists. She is also the author of the Mystery by Design series, which she wrote as Paula Carter. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Author Link:

Webpage – http://www.paulapaul.net/

Purchase Links:

Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Men-Only-Alexandra-Gladstone-ebook/dp/B01208WOJ4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1456255044&sr=1-1

B and N – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/for-dead-men-only-paula-paul/1122800337?ean=9781101883228

Amy Sandas's Luck Is No Lady Blog Tour with a Spotlight and Giveaway

I am so excited to have Amy Sandas here at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight and Giveaway.

Thanks Amy and Sourcebooks for allowing me to join her Luck Is No Lady Blog Tour!

Please take it away, Amy!

Title: Luck Is No Lady
Author: Amy Sandas
Series: Fallen Ladies, #1
Pubdate: April 5th, 2016
ISBN: 9781492618720

“You should not have kissed me,” she replied breathlessly.

“I do a lot of things I shouldn’t. It does not mean I won’t do them again.”

Gently bred Emma Chadwick always assumed she’d live and die the daughter of a gentleman. But when her father’s death reveals a world of staggering debt and dangerous moneylenders, she must risk her good name and put her talent for mathematics to use, taking a position as bookkeeper at London’s most notorious gambling hell. Surrounded by vice and corruption on all sides, it is imperative no one discovers Emma’s shameful secret or her reputation — and her life — will be ruined.

But Roderick Bentley, the hell’s sinfully wealthy owner, awakens a hunger Emma cannot deny. Drawn deep into an underworld of high stakes gambling and reckless overindulgence, she soon discovers that in order to win the love of a ruthless scoundrel, she will have to play the game...and give in to the pleasure of falling from grace.

Amy Sandas's love of romance began one summer when she stumbled across one of her mother's Barbara Cartland books. Her affinity for writing began with sappy pre-teen poems and led to a Bachelor's degree with an emphasis on Creative Writing from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. She lives with her husband and children near Milwaukee.

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Mj21xb

Apple: http://apple.co/22gCCgI

BAM: http://bit.ly/1M3180W

B and N: http://bit.ly/22feMpi

Chapters: http://bit.ly/22gEzKc

Indiebound: http://bit.ly/1Ln4zzz

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1YSMKuk

Question Roulette Q&A

Why did you decide to write a series involving gaming hell?

I’m not sure I actually decided that. It more sort of happened as my characters started revealing who they were and what needed to happen to achieve their happily ever after.

This excerpt is from Emma and Roderick’s first meeting, an anonymous encounter behind the fall of a curtain. In return for promising not to discover her identity, he asks her to assist with his disheveled neckcloth.

Taking another step closer in order to comfortably reach up to his throat, she began to twist and fold the neckcloth into a style she had recreated many times before. Warmth emanated from the stranger and cool night air drifted around her. There was a solid strength to his body as he stood still and accommodating beneath her hands. The sound of his breath began to match the rhythm of her own and the light-headedness she had experienced earlier returned in a rush.

Her fingers fumbled through the familiar movements as what should have been a simple task became weighted with acute expectancy.

By the time she smoothed the edges of the cravat beneath his coat, Emma’s breath was tight and her pulse beat in a frantic rhythm. Craving distance and a safe return of her faculties, she shifted her weight to step back, but her retreat was brought to a halt when he lifted his hands to cup her face.

“One more thing,” he murmured. Then his mouth covered hers.

She had not yet lowered her hands, and they flattened against his chest as she tensed in shock. Her stomach went into a tizzy of uncontrollable flutters, and what remaining sensible thoughts she may have had were sent spiraling from her head.

He pressed his fingertips into the hollow at the base of her skull and propped his thumbs beneath her chin, holding her in place to accept the exquisite pressure of his lips. He took a step closer and his feet stirred the fall of her skirts as his body bumped gently against hers. Then he tilted his head and his mouth softened in unspoken entreaty, as if he were asking for something more.

Emma had never been kissed before, and as his mouth moved over hers, she found herself utterly unprepared for the sensations it invoked. She never could have anticipated the delicious heaviness invading her limbs or the tingling that rushed through her blood. When he pulled on her lips, as if trying to draw something from her, her body tightened deep inside with a yearning that came on so swiftly it startled her.

It finally recalled her to her senses — the inexplicable need that overtook all rational thought. Emma was not accustomed to such a complete destruction of mental acuity, and it frightened her.

She tensed the curve of her lower back. The resistance was small, but it was enough, and he lifted his head. Emma fought the urge to run her tongue over her lips. Though he had ended the kiss, he did not step back or release his hands from her face.

“Are you certain you wish to remain unknown to each other?” he whispered darkly. His voice felt like a caress. “We could continue this encounter in a more comfortable location. Somewhere just as private, lit by candlelight.”

“You should not have kissed me,” she replied breathlessly as her thoughts began to reorganize themselves and a raw panic seeped into her bones.

“I do a lot of things I shouldn’t. It does not mean I won’t do them again.”

Her alarm intensified at the thought of him kissing her again. She could not let that happen, not when his first kiss had been so unsettling. A second might be devastating. 

Giveaway

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/54ca7af7321

Wednesday Wish List

Please list the books/manga/manhwa/yaoi manga from your wishlist that you are hoping to add to your shelves in a comment, thanks.

The extraordinary new Lucas Davenport thriller from #1 New York Times–bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winner John Sandford.

After the events in Gathering Prey, Lucas Davenport finds himself in a very unusual situation — no longer employed by the Minnesota BCA. His friend the governor is just cranking up a presidential campaign, though, and he invites Lucas to come along as part of his campaign staff. “Should be fun!” he says, and it kind of is — until they find they have a shadow: an armed man intent on killing the governor and anyone who gets in the way.

DARK SECRETS

World-famous forensic sculptor Eve Duncan has landed in a well-guarded hospital room in Carmel, California. But hidden danger looms for Eve, her beloved Joe Quinn, and Cara Delaney, the young girl they’ve both sworn to protect. With Cara’s enemies on the move, Eve has no choice but to flee the hospital ― no matter what the doctors say. Her protective instincts in full gear, she decides that their best chance of survival is to get out of the country. She turns to her daughter, Jane MacGuire, for help.

DESPERATE MEASURES

For years, Jane has been avoiding pressure to find a treasure thought to be buried in Scotland ― but she’s finally succumbed to John MacDuff’s pleas to track it down. Eve and Cara join Jane in the remote mountains, but soon realize that nowhere is far enough away from the ruthless predators who are on their trail.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sea Haven novels returns to the circle of the six sisters of the heart, bound by the elements — and to one who possesses the power to inflame the most dangerous passions of all.

Flame-haired Lissa Piner is a skilled glass blower whose delicate gift conceals a burning inner strength that can destroy as exquisitely as it can create. Commissioned to design chandeliers for a string of luxury hotels, her remarkable skills have taken her to Italy. But Lissa’s real mission there is a secret. For her entire life has been a lie, leading to a chance to avenge a terrible wrong.

Enlisted as her bodyguard is Casmir Prakenskii, a trained assassin living off the grid. In Lissa, he sees a kindred spirit — something unexpected and wicked, mysterious and sensual. But more than desire is about to bring them together: because both of their pasts cry out for revenge. And for two people with this many secrets, this much passion, and this many enemies, someone is bound to get burned.

Manga:

Though Kaho and Kanade break up due to Kanade's own immaturity, the fifth grader soon realizes just how precious Kaho is to him. Which leads to the completely mature actions of chasing her home, serenading her with piano-accompanied love songs, and even making an emergency marriage proposal! Surely the age gap between the two means marriage is impossible -- but Kaho and Kanade tentatively exchange vows! Meanwhile, it seems like a new threat is waiting to test the young couple's relationship -- and that busty high school girl and devilish college student are at the center of it!

Don't lose sight of what you set out to do!

The cold north wind sets in on the island and handsome young calligrapher Seishuu Handa longs for his winter clothes. But instead of Kawafuji making the delivery, Handa's parents decide to make their island debut -- and come bearing much more than just winter clothes! Double the trouble arrives on the island in this chaotic, hot 'n' hearty comedy! Go back to the country and back to the basics in Volume 10 of Barakamon!

School life isn't getting any easier for Seishuu Handa. Try as he might to make himself invisible to his classmates, the rising number of "Handaists" -- classmates beguiled by his erratic behavior -- make his task nearly impossible. With a new nemesis and girlfriend (??) in the mix, does Handa-kun have even a slim chance of staying off the radar?

Enlisted by the American military officer Easy, Seigi trains diligently in an effort to master his Spell Crest. But when a friend and colleague of Easy's is targeted in a war brewing over these superweapons, do Seigi and his partner even have a prayer of surviving their next encounter with the agents of Selinistan?

Sakamichi Onoda's first race and his first road racer!

Sakamichi Onoda finds himself in his first real road race following his fateful encounter with fellow first-years and road-racing hopefuls -- the driven ace, Shunsuke Imaizumi, and the gifted sprinter and "Speedster of Naniwa," Shoukichi Naruko! But the heated first-years' race for team Sohoku is serious business, and Onoda's competing on his granny bike!! After struggling to keep up, Onoda trades in his old bike midrace for a brand-spankin' - new road bike, and his slumbering potential comes bursting out! But will it be enough to ride to the top?!

New Manga Release 2016 (Apr 19)

 

New Manga Release

The year is 2095. Magic has been tamed as another form of technology, and the practice of magic is now a rigorous discipline. Brother and sister Tatsuya and Miyuki Shiba are just about to start their first year at the renowned First Magic High School of Japan. But the school's ironclad rules mean that the brilliant Miyuki enters the prestigious Course 1, while her older brother, Tatsuya, is relegated to Course 2--and that's just the beginning of their troubles!

Weekly Book Reads (Apr 18)

 Weekly Book Reads

Weekly Book Reads is a weekly Monday Meme that is hosted by Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews:

Post the books read last week and books you plan on finishing this week.

Read Last Week:

1.  Alone in the Dark (Part 1) - Karen Rose
2.  Haven't You Heard I'm Sakamoto Vol. 2 - Nami Sano
3.  The Ancient Magus' Bride Vol. 1 - Kore Yamazaki

Weekly Book Reading:

1.  Alone in the Dark (Part 2) - Karen Rose
2.  He's My Only Vampire Vol. 6 - Aya Shouoto

Bunny Express Saturday 2016 (Apr 16)

Bunny Express Saturday is hosted every Saturday at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews.

I received this in the mail this week.

For Review:

Someone is targeting the most powerful people in Paris -- only Jack Morgan can make it stop.

When Jack Morgan stops by Private's Paris office, he envisions a quick hello during an otherwise relaxing trip. But Jack is quickly pressed into duty after getting a call from his client Sherman Wilkerson, asking Jack to track down his young granddaughter, who is on the run from a brutal drug dealer. Before Jack can locate her, several members of France's cultural elite are found dead - murdered in stunning, symbolic fashion. The only link between the crimes is a mysterious graffiti tag. As religious and ethnic tensions simmer in the City of Lights, only Jack and his Private team can connect the dots before the smoldering powder keg explodes.

Wanted: A bold adventurer who wants to travel the world from a comfortable and safe spot behind a desk that has seen the likes of kings and queens, paupers and princes. A humble book and rare manuscript shop seeks a keenly intelligent investigator to assist us in our search for things thought lost, and in our quest to return lost items to their rightful owners.

Never an adventurer, no one was more surprised than Delaney Nichols when she packed her bags and moved halfway across the world to Edinburgh, Scotland to start a job at The Cracked Spine, a bookshop located in the heart of the city. Her new boss, Edwin MacAlister, has given her the opportunity of a lifetime, albeit a cryptic one, and Delaney can’t wait to take her spot behind the desk.

The Cracked Spine is filled with everything a book lover could want, each item as eclectic as the people who work there; the spirited and lovable Rosie, who always has tiny dog Hector in tow; Hamlet, a nineteen-year-old thespian with a colored past and bright future; and Edwin, who is just as enigmatic and mysterious as Delaney expected. An extra bonus is Tom the bartender from across the street, with his cobalt eyes, and a gentle brogue ― and it doesn’t hurt that he looks awfully good in a kilt.

But before she can settle into her new life, a precious artifact goes missing, and Edwin’s sister is brutally murdered. Never did Delaney think that searching for things lost could mean a killer, but if she’s to keep her job, and protect her new friends, she’ll need to learn the truth behind this Scottish tragedy.


 

The residents of Llanelen are brimming with excitement. Antiques Cymru, a regional take on the popular national TV show, is coming to the Welsh town and people are flocking from miles around, hoping their attic treasures turn out to be worth a fortune. On the day of filming, quiet local sheep farmer Haydn Williams brings a generations-old long-case clock for evaluation, while the woman he's always admired from afar, Catrin Bellis, turns up with a cherished handmade quilt. Will either hear surprising good news about the value of their family heirlooms? By the end of the day, Catrin turns up dead, her quilt missing.

Who could have wanted this shy, quiet woman - who had been overshadowed by her parents for her whole life - dead? Delving into Catrin's past, spa owner and amateur sleuth Penny Brannigan is surprised to discover that Catrin had at least one enemy. And as Penny's romantic life heats up with a new love interest, she realizes that a mysterious document hidden in Haydn's clock could hold the key to a long-forgotten secret and a present-day murder.

Murder on the Hour is a light-hearted traditional mystery featuring a charming heroine set in an enchanting Welsh town.


 

An epic adventure -- that's all Bryce wants this summer. So when he stumbles upon a treasure map connected to an old family secret, Bryce is determined to follow the clues to unearth both, even it means hiking in the wilderness in the middle of nowhere. Bryce must work with his bickering brother, Jack, or they may never see the light of day again!

Manga:

New Release 2016 (Apr 12)

 

New Release

Teen-aged Internet bully Ivy Lake fell off a cliff and few people cared except her mentally-challenged eighteen-year-old step-brother, Tommy. He loved her in spite of her cruelty. He's distraught and doesn't understand why his blended family is falling apart. After a year, the police still have no answers: Ivy could have jumped, could have been pushed, or it could have been an accident. With too many suspects and not enough evidence, the investigation has grown cold.

Tommy thinks that if someone can figure out what happened to his step-sister, everything will go back to normal, so he writes to investigative reporter Maxine Revere. This isn’t the type of case Max normally takes on, but the heartbreak and simple honesty in Tommy's letter pulls her in. She travels to Corte Madera, California, with her assistant David Kane and is at first pleased that the police are cooperative. But the more Max learns about Tommy and his dysfunctional family, the more she thinks she’s taken on an impossible task: this may be the one case she can’t solve.

If Ivy was murdered, it was exceptionally well-planned and that kind of killer could be hiding in plain sight planning the next act of violence. Max believes the truth is always better than lies, that the truth is the only thing that matters to gain justice for victims and their families. But for the first time, she wonders if this time, the truth will kill.

Poisonous is the latest in the electrifying Max Revere series from New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan.